Synchronizing clock system.



J. w. BRYCE.

SYNCHRONIZING CLOCK SYSTEM.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 24, 1918.

1,3 10,782. Patented d; 1919.

28H TS- I.

J. W. BRYCE.

SYNCHRONIZING CLOCK SYSTEM.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT 24, I9I8.

PaI'ented'JuIy 22, 1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

R O T N E v m JAMES W. BRYCE, OF BINGHAMTON, NEW YORK.

SYNCHRONIZING CLOCK SYSTEM.

Specification of Letters Yatent.

Patented July 22, 1919.

Application filed September 24, 1918. Serial No. 255,416.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES IV. BRYCE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Binghamton, in the county-of Broome and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Synchronizing Clock Systems. of which the followin r is a full, clear, and exact description.

he invention which I shall set forth in the specification accompanying my present application for Letters-Patent resides in a modification of the system of synchronizing one or more secondary clocks by a master clock which is described and claimed in a prior application filed by me on May 21st, 1918, Ser. No. 235,813, and is an improvement thereon.

In the said prior application referred to, the means for synchronizing are shown as applied to a system in which the secondary clocks are controlled by balance wheels and escapements, but not infrequently it happens that these are pendulum clocks, in which case a problem arises in stopping 01' retarding and accelerating the clocks in order to brlng them into synchronism, without interfering with the normal movement and regular beat of the pendulum. This application is based upon a solution which I have discovered for this problem.

In the drawin s hereto annexed Figure 1 is a iagram of the clock system showing one of the secondary clocks in some detail.

Fig. 2 is an end View of a differential gear used in the secondary.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the same.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view of a second differential employed, and

Fig. 5 is a sectional view of the winding spring and connected gears.

For the present it may be assumed that the master clock connects a source of current to the circuit to the secondary clocks at fifteen minutes of the hour and breaks such connection at the even hour, and the description of the secondary clock will proceed upon such assumption.

Each secondary clock is a pendulum clock having a pendulum A. The clock is wound Whenever necessary by a spring B, Fig. 5,

which is operated'by a current or a series of current impulses transmitted by or from the master clock at predetermined intervals by means which, for purposes f the present case, need not be and are not shown. This spring imparts moven'ien't to the clock through the usual gears C.

The clock has an escapement D engaging with a verge wheel E and on the shaft of the escapcment D is a contact finger F which makes wiping contact with a plurality of contacts, ten generally in number, on a contact wheel (l on the verge shaft.

The verge shaft is in mesh with the left hand driving member II of a differential mechanism shown in Fig. 3 and the right hand member I of this differential meshes with a rotary fan J. The hour shaft K of the clock is driven by the center member of the differential shown in Fig. l, the right hand gear member L of which drives, through suitable gearing. the verge shaft, while the left hand member M is in mesh with a pinion on the shaft of a ratchet wheel-N.

The hour shaft K carries two cams O and P which, of course, could be combined into a single disk. and of these cam 0 permits two contacts Q to fall together at exactly v the even hour, as shown by the hands of the secondary clock, and cam 1 brings two contacts B into engagement at exactly thirty minutes of the hour, as shown by the hands, and allows them to separate at fifteen minutes of the hour.

The only other mechanism which requires explanation is a pawl S operated by an electromagnet T and engaging with the ratchet wheel N and an electromagnet U which opcrates to control the engagement of a catch with the fan J.

As thus constructed the apparatus when connected up with the circuits to be described operates in the following manner.

If the clock is on'time the contacts Q, come together at the. hour or at the exact instant when the current from the master clock isbroken and nothing happens. Should, however, the clock be too fast, these contacts will close before the hour or before the current from the master clock ceases, and this current passing from wire 2, through the contacts Q and wire 3 reaches the multiple contact wheel G by which it is broken up into impulses which flow through the contact F and the wire 4 to and through the electromaguet T and back to line.

By these impulses of current the ratchet wheel N is turned step by step and drives the, differential gear member M backward at exactly the same rate that the other men her L turned forward, hence the center member meshing with both M and L stands stationary and the hands of the clock are stopped, although the clock mechanism continues to run and the pendulum to swing as before. This condition of things persists until the master clock has caught up to the fast Secondary and the circuit through the magnet T is interrupted. The clocks are thus brought into synchronism;

On the other hand should the secondary clock be on time the contacts R are brought together at exactly thirty minutes of the hour, but as no current is then passing from the master clock no" effect on the secondary is produced.

Should, however, the secondary clock be too slow it will not permit; contacts R to separate at exactly fifteen" minutes of the hour, but will keep them closed after current begins to flow from the master clock. The master clock current will therefore flow through wire 2, wire 5, contacts R, wire 6, and electromagnet U back to line. This releases the fan J and allows the gear member I normally locked against movement to 1'0- tate rapidly, with the result that the clock mechanism including the other differential and hands are advanced to make up time until the secondary has caught up with the master clock although the pendulum and train back of it is not affected at all.

It will be observed therefore that the means here employed involve two differentials. In one'the fan gears with the drive wheel on one side and the verge shaft with that on the other. In the other differential the clock driving train gears with one side and the back ratchet N with the other. From this it results that whatever the rate of movement of the hands-from zero to maximum the pendulum is not influenced and is driven by. a uniform force and swings regularly. It would be of course a very serious problem to start and stop a pendulum or to attempt to vary its rate of swing.

In the previous application to which I have made reference above the means for sending to line a current for a predetermined interval is shown in detail. For purposes of the present case it is only necessary to show as an example of such means a disk V which is assumed to be on the hour shaft of the master clock and two contacts \V which are assumed to be kept in engagement by a raised portion of the disk .V from fifteen minutes of the hour to the even hour as shown by the hands of the master clock and during that interval to connect a source of current X to line.

Having now described my invention What I claim is 1. In a clock system the means for synchronizing one or more secondary pendulum clocks by a master clock which consists in the combination of two differential gear mechanisms in the driving train of each secondary clock with means for permit-ting one to, advance the hands of said clock and means for causing 'theother to stop said hands without interfering with the pendulum driving train nor the rate of the swing of said pendulum, and circuit connections for determining which of said means shall be operated according to; whether the secondary clock be too slow or too fast.

2. The means herein described for stopping the hands of a secondary. pendulum clock without interfering with the swing of the pendulum consisting of a differential gear in the driving train, one member in mesh with the pendulum driving mechanism the other with a ratchet wheel, and means for rotating said ratchet wheel backward to stop the clock hands without interfering with the pendulum swing.

The means herein described for advancing the hands of a secondary pendulum clockwithout interfering with the swing of the pendulum consisting of a differential gear in the driving train, one member in mesh with the verge shaft, the other with a. fan, and means for releasing the fan and permitting a relatively rapid movement of the hands without interfering with the swing of the pendulum.

4. In a clock system containing a master clock and one or more secondary pendulum clocks maintained in synchronism with the same, the combination of means in themaster clock .connecting to line a source of current for definite predetermined intervals, means in each secondary clock for connecting the line circuit for periods of definite length and in fixed relation to the time as indicatedby the secondary clock with cir- JAMES BRYCE. 

